Speaking to ifa, Ms Payne said advisers first need to ensure they have “the basics right”, noting that everything — even how they greet a client — influences their perceived value.
“There are so many little things, it’s not even the big stuff that needs to be focused on. Sometimes it’s just the little stuff. And the ‘how are you’ is a really good example, because we get on autopilot so much,” Ms Payne said.
“Just take me one step further than just ‘how are you’,” she continued, adding that one additional question can set off a whole ripple effect of conversation.
Moreover, Ms Payne explained that going that extra step further can enhance the entire experience for both the client and the adviser.
“Advisers do such valuable work on big life-changing scale, but they can also just think about some of these little things at the same time, that can make such a difference to the experience of doing the work,” she said.
Ms Payne’s other tip is to exercise one’s creativity.
“Most people in financial advice, in accounting, they don’t think they’re really creative,” she said.
“And then I ask them, ‘Have you ever had to solve a problem for a client that maybe the client had never come across before?’, or ‘Have you ever had to try and get something past the keeper that had never got through?’, or ‘Have you ever seen numbers on a page and thought something is not working out here and had to do something different with them, or inspire a behaviour?’. If you’ve done anything like that, then by definition, you are creative,” Ms Payne explained.
Conversely, advisers who convince themselves they aren’t creative are doing themselves a disservice.
“Creativity is just about bringing ideas to life and finding inspiration, and sharing them with others and looking at ways that you can solve problems that otherwise might not have been solved.”
Ms Payne urged advisers to explore ways to make the entire process a little more enjoyable.
“Approach creativity from a perspective of, ‘okay, we’ve got to do this’. And compliance is such a beautiful one, I know it’s very laborious and arduous for the adviser, but it is for the client too. So how could you bring some of that creativity and make it a little bit more enjoyable?” she said.
To hear more from Ms Payne and her tips to make your advice process more creative, tune into our latest podcast on Wednesday.
